Thanks largely to the leadership and production of freshman star Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas marched back to the Sweet Sixteen this past season, their second straight trip under John Calipari’s leadership. Recent years hadn’t produced well for Calipari at rival Kentucky but he’s had an instant touch on the Razorbacks program.
Alot of talent left
With Acuff as the clearest example of the last 24 months, Calipari has had no issue bringing talented players to Fayetteville much like he had done for more than a decade in Lexington. In fact, this upcoming recruiting class has several prominent names that will factor into the lineup, and it’s a lineup that’ll look much different to Razorbacks fans.
After all, Trevon Brazile and Nick Pringle are out of elibility, Acuff is off to the NBA, and both Billy Richmond and Meleek Thomas could be following him. The Razorbacks lost a number of players into the transfer portal and have grabbed just a pair of reinforcements to this point themselves. If Richmond and Thomas both head to the NBA Draft, then the most prominent returner might be freshman Isaiah Sealy.
A new look in Fayetteville
This is clearly a roster that will look very different next season but there’s no reason for despair. After all, Arkansas does boast the top-ranked freshman class in the nation, led by 5-star shooting guard Jordan Smith and fellow top recruits JJ Andrews and Abdou Toure. Calipari is still finding talent and filling holes in the rotation, though we also can’t ignore the important of Jeremiah Wilkinson, the Georgia transfer who averaged more than 17 points per game as a sophomore last season.
Arkansas returns 7-footer Paulo Semedo and hopes he can see time on the court and also adds former Furman big Cooper Bowser. If this team can get Richmond or Thomas back, they just might have the right mix of raw talent and experience to make another deep run this upcoming season. After all, Sweet Sixteen’s are fantastic, but the Razorbacks still hunt their first Final Four in over three decades.
Like we previously mentioned, Calipari spent his time in Kentucky bringing impressive recruiting classes to town and winning a ton of games. It’s a strategy that didn’t work quite as well in his later years in Lexington and it’s fair to wonder if it’ll pay off in Fayetteville. Regardless, Arkansas has far from abandoned the transfer portal and has already assembled a roster that should be right in the thick of things in the SEC.
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